Best friends
by Hopeakaarme
Summary: A story about how Remus Lupin and Sirius Black became friends, and how they fought their worst opponent James Potter and his gang.
1. Making Friends

Disclaimer: Nuhuh, not mine. Not at all.

A/N: Just something from my insane little head.

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Best Friends

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Making Friends

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Remus was sitting in a little library. He had his DADA book open in front of him, but it didn't take all of his attention. He was also busy in listening to every voice.

People usually went to libraries to study. So did Remus. But unlike the others, Remus had also another reason to be there.

While studying, Remus was also hiding.

There was nearly a war among the younger students, it had been from the first day of the school year. Only Slytherins weren't participating in the war, they were only a random group of bystanders, and good to tease. Both sides of the strife hated them, and both sides were torturing every Slytherin who came by.

The sides didn't look even. On one side was a group of boys, mostly Gryffindors, as well as some Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. On the other side was a single Gryffindor. All the other students on two first years and even some third years were divided to quiet followers, who didn't really do anything, only were on their leader's side.

Remus didn't like it at all. He hated quarrels, and the most he hated quarrels among the Gryffindor house. He had no real side, and in some situations that protected him. Usually, it only made him a clear target.

He heard something from the corridor and raised his eyes to the doorway, waiting. It could be a teacher, but it could as well be someone who was going to bully him. Most of the students did. He was always alone, so no one was scared of teasing him. He couldn't protect himself.

James Potter appeared to the doorway. His black hair was just as messy as usually, and he was looking around through his glasses. When he noticed Remus, he walked forward. Peter Pettigrew, his usual lieutenant, and some other students followed him.

Remus was strained. He watched cautiously the approaching group. James Potter was the leader of one side of the strife, and he had pretty much followers. Remus had reasons to be scared, because he hadn't taken his side yet. For James, you were either on his side or against him.

"Hey, Bookworm," James said, closing his book firmly and quickly taking the bookmark off, losing the page. "Have you seen Black anywhere?"

"No, I haven't," he said, hoping he could get clear from the situation without getting seriously injured. James wasn't as bad as his opponent, Sirius Black, but you had to be very careful around both of them. Remus wasn't Sirius's friend, so there were no real reasons for hurting him, but he wasn't James's friend, either. Therefore, no reasons to avoid hurting him.

For his great relief, James seemed to lose his interest on him. "Good for you," he just said and turned around. "Come on, folks. I bet that lonely little git is hiding somewhere. We have to find him."

Remus looked after them as they disappeared from the room, still not really believing his good luck. Then he opened his book and sighed deeply. He wasn't going to complain - he really liked himself like he was, and didn't want anybody to hex his hair away or something - but it was still annoying that James couldn't get past him without at least teasing him. That no one could, for that matter.

He tried to read again. James had just left, so he wasn't very likely to come back for a while. And if Sirius came... Well, there was nothing that could save him from Sirius, no matter if he was on guard or not.

After a moment somebody came in. He straightened himself and looked carefully at the coming person. If it was Sirius, he was most likely to be on a bad mood - and if Sirius was around him on a bad mood, he'd better run and fast.

It wasn't he, though. Professor Marcanor, his DADA teacher, had come to the library. The professor walked right towards him and stopped next to him.

"Er... Hello, professor," Remus said with a very quiet voice. "I'm studying." He tried to look like he'd really been studying the book very hard for the past few hours. He felt like he didn't manage very well, though.

"Or so you say." The professor smiled. "You don't look like a person who's studying, you look like a person who's scared of being found. When I came in, you looked at me like expecting to see some kind of a monster."

"Um... Sorry, professor," he said. "I - I was just reading this part about Dark beasts, and as you maybe know, I'm pretty easy to frighten. I thought..."

"Oh, well," she replied. "I understand. Sorry for frightening you, I didn't mean to. It's nice to see someone so concentrated on studies - especially DADA studies."

'You don't understand anything!' Remus screamed in his mind. '_Don't you see that half of the students are trying to kill each others? Don't you teachers know anything?'_ "I like DADA, professor," he said aloud. "It's interesting."

"That's good to hear," she smiled. Then she glanced around. "There's no one else here," she noticed. "Where all your friends are?"

"What friends?" he said before he could prevent himself. When he noticed what he had said, he blushed and bit his lip. There were things you can't say to a teacher, and that definitely was one of them.

"What do you mean?" the professor asked, raising an eyebrow. "Are you lonely, Mr. Lupin?" She watched him curiously.

Remus nodded, without saying a word, and trying to look at anything else but the professor. He just didn't feel comfortable around her. He hadn't any real reasons for that, but something in her totally annoyed him, he just couldn't put a finger on what it was.

"And how's that possible?" Miss Marcanor continued asking. "You're such a nice boy, intelligent and kind. I thought you'd have lots of friends. I'd like to be friends with someone like you, if I was your age."

Remus couldn't help himself snorting. It was clear that professor Marcanor knew nothing about children. _Nobody_ wanted to be friends with quiet and clever people. Everybody wanted to be around someone cheerful and popular, like James Potter, or Sirius Black, and the like.

And on the same second he thought about Sirius, the boy stepped in. He was alone, which wasn't very surprising. Although Sirius really was the kind of people everyone wanted to be friends with, and many of the students thought that James's group should lose the strife, he personally wasn't perfect for a friend. Some people had tried to be near to him long enough to make friends with him, but they usually fled after a short period of time.

If you already weren't Sirius Black's friend, you should keep far away from him. Although he usually pranked only Slytherins and Potter's group, anyone who got near enough was most likely to get some hexes spelled on himself. No matter that Sirius was only a first year student like Remus himself, he already knew some hexes nasty enough to make even some seventh year Slytherin girl cry.

Professor Marcanor noticed him also. For Remus's great surprise and even greater fear, she turned towards Sirius. "Young Mr. Black!" He said firmly. "Come to me on this very moment! I want to talk with you!"

Sirius came, not very quickly. He walked lazily towards them, his hands put deep inside his pockets. His wand stuck out from another of his pockets. Remus didn't even want to think what charms he had planned to do with it.

"This time you have a wrong person, professor," Sirius said protectively, when he got to them. "I haven't done anything today. At least not yet. Come back to me later, if you want to give me a detention. On this moment there's no reason for it."

"I'm not going to punish you, Mr. Black," professor said cheerfully. "I didn't even think that you had done anything. No, I had something totally different to say to you."

"And that is?" Sirius asked. He wasn't looking at the professor, however. His dark eyes were looking right at Remus, and he looked very attentive. Like a snake who was just about to attack a mouse.

Remus took a step backwards. Sirius was at least a head taller than him, and even without magic, he could easily beat the shit out of him. And when you added the magic... Remus was pretty good in Charms and DADA, yes, but no one could match Sirius's hexes. And, for the second thing, he had very bad suspicions about what professor was exactly going to say.

"You see, this is Remus Lupin," professor Marcanor told Sirius, seemingly not noticing the expressions and positions of each boy. "He's a bit lonely. I've seen that you're a pretty active person, Mr. Black. Therefore, I want you to make friends with Remus."

Remus closed his eyes tightly. Professor really knew _nothing_ about children. Now Sirius was going to beat him, if not before - no matter if there was a teacher present or not. You can't only tell someone to make friends with someone else. And you definitely can't do that to Sirius Black.

For his great surprise, he didn't get bunny ears or anything else like that. He dared to open slightly his eyes, still very careful. He tried to think about all the protecting spells he knew, and noticed that no one of them would very likely work in this part of Hogwarts.

Remus didn't have to use protecting, thought. When he looked at Sirius, he noticed that the other boy was in fact grinning. And it wasn't his usual, mischievous and sinister grin. It was a happy grin. Remus had never before seen anything like that on Sirius's face.

"Of course I can be your friend," Sirius said. He reached his hands towards Remus. "Only remember one thing: Never, ever call me Sirre."

Remus was too scared to grasp his hand. He only stared it, like it was a weird and dangerous creature, sticking out from Sirius's body.

Sirius laughed, amused, carefree laugh. "Looks like I have pretty bad reputation," he said. "Maybe I shouldn't wonder why." He grinned cheerfully. "Don't worry, I don't pull pranks on everyone who gets near me. I wouldn't have time. And, to be honest, too many of them are teachers." He looked sideways at Professor Marcanor and smiled.

Remus reached his hand, still cautious. _'Don't worry_,' he said to himself. _'There's a teacher next to me. He can't do anything.'_ He grasped Sirius's hand. _'He can't do anything!'_ he screamed inside his mind, trying to calm himself down.

Sirius squeezed his hand tightly. Surprisingly his hand was warm. Remus had always imagined it would be cold. But it was warm, and it kept his hand like Sirius didn't want to let him go.

At last they disengaged from each other's hands. Sirius smiled to him. "Come now," he said. "I think I saw Potter and his little pet rat going somewhere there. I have an idea about what to do to them..." He turned aroud and was already going away.

Remus followed him, hardly believing that was really happening. He, Remus Lupin, the most quiet and never-would-have-a-detention-like boy on the first year was going to pull pranks on others with Sirius Black, who usually spent most of his spare time either teasing others or having detentions. Or both.

And, for his even greater surprise, he kind of liked that.

'

Remus disappeared after Sirius. Professor Marcanor nodded and smiled. She assumed she had managed pretty well. That was exactly what she was told to do.

"Excellent, Alicia," said someone next to her. "Excellent." Headmaster Dumbledore became visible. He was smiling, a little, happy smile that was so famous. It was called "Dump-he-dares-grin," and both the teachers and students called it that way. Headmaster didn't take himself very seriously, so why should anyone else do?

"Thanks, Albus," she said. "You were really right. They both needed a friend." She shook her head and smiled, "although I'm pretty sure that young Potter and his friends won't like the situation." She remembered the mischievous grin on Sirius's face, and she nearly pitied James Potter and Peter Pettigrew. But only nearly - they did a great deal of jokes also. Those boys kind of deserved each other.

"I think they can deal with it," Headmaster grinned. "They are going to dispute in every case. Maybe young James considers his doings more, if he has two boys instead of one against him."

"Or maybe Sirius will now beat him, with Remus on his side. They have been pretty even even before, and now he has a friend on his side. If James doesn't repay the kind in, those two will maybe become even nastier to him and his group."

"But you don't have to care about that, Alicia," Dumbledore reminded her. "I'll take care about everything what happens now. You've done what you were told to do. That's enough." He smiled and walked to the door.

When he stepped out of the room, a load of water fell upon him.

"Oops, sorry for that, professor," she heard someone saying. "We thought it was Bl- er, we were trying to clean that black stain on the floor. Honestly!" She easily recognized the voice. James Potter had already got there.

"Fifteen points from Gryffindor," Headmaster said, when he got up and began to murmur drying spells. "And you'd better not pull pranks on any of the teachers anymore, James. Next time I'll give you a detention." Then he took a little pause. The professor could easily imagine his eyes twinkling when he continued, "and I think I saw young Mr. Black going that way."

"Thanks, professor," James said, his voice full of relief. Then he and his followers ran to the direction Dumbledore had shown - that was, to the opposite than Sirius and Remus had disappeared to.

She shook her head. Not a miracle that students couldn't do well with each other, if even the Headmaster was like that.

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Next Chapter: **Homework and Enemies**

The title tells it all. Not necessarily in that order.


	2. Homework and Enemies

Disclaimer: Still not mine. Isn't it a pity?

A/N: To clear up some confusion: This is an AU, an Alternate Universe. In the Canon, yes, Sirius and James were the best friends. Yeah. But not here. Savvy?

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Best Friends

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Homework And Enemies

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"Chose your side at last, eh, Lupin?" asked a nasty voice behind Remus.

The small brunet glanced up from his homework. "I fail to see how you've come to that," he answered as calmly as he could. He only barely hid his nervousness.

"Don't play innocent," James Potter snarled, leaning over the smaller boy. "You were seen with Black last evening."

"Yeah," said Todd Calmson, one of Potter's Hufflepuff followers. "And we don't like that."

"Not at all," confirmed Cindy Mallow, a Ravenclaw girl with brown hair and no eyebrows - a really weird sight, but most had already got used to it - accompanied by her friend Jane Crowley's firm nod.

Remus swallowed. Being surrounded by a bunch of malicious fellow students, who were almost all bigger than he, and all his enemies for sure.

"Remus?" asked a familiar voice just as the others began moving nearer him.

"Over here, Sirius," he replied, sighing quietly in relief. He now knew that he wouldn't get beaten this time.

A black-haired boy came in sight from between the book shelves. He laid a stack of books on the table next to Remus's own books, casting a glare at the threatening group. "Go 'way," he spat, and sat on a chair next to Remus. "I don't want to hex you."

Potter sneered, and Peter Pettigrew said, "Very well, then. But Lupin... You'd better not be alone anymore."

Then they left, however. There were five of them, true - but Sirius Black was worth more than four with all the curses and hexes he knew already. Nobody, not even James Potter, wanted to be on the receiving end of his wand. Therefore, no one dared to start a fight with him without a lot of friends around.

"What do we have today?" Sirius asked, glancing at the book Remus had open in front of him.

"We have to practice the light spell for Charms, write ten inches about the differences between Monkshood and Aconite for Herbology, read the next chapter for DADA, and learn to find Sirius from the sky for Astronomy."

"Hey, that's cool!" the other boy exclaimed. "You mean that Sirius is a star? I didn't know that!"

"You didn't?" Remus asked, bemused. "And here I was thinking that you'd been awake in Astronomy at least once! Well, seemingly I was wrong. Yes, Sirius is a star. Commonly known as the Dog Star."

"Cool," Sirius said again, and grinned. "I think we both can do the spell, right?"

"Yeah," Remus replied. "It's almost too easy. And the Herbology essay is a joke, or something. Monkshood and Aconite are both names for the same plant, also known as the Wolfsbane. I think we have to make up something, but not more than we need to point that out. So, what about you help me understand this DADA stuff, and then I'll teach you to find your star." He smiled, and Sirius smiled back.

"Yeah. And then, I could teach you some hexes," Sirius said, grinning. "Just in case they surprise you alone again."

Remus smiled slightly and said, "I somehow doubt they will."

"Not if it depends on me," Sirius said lightly. Then he examined his friend more closely, and frowned. "Is something wrong with you, Remus?" he asked, sounding a bit worried.

The smaller boy startled. "What? Oh, no. Everything is all right," he lied. In his mind he silently prayed that Sirius wouldn't ask anything else, since something _was_ wrong. The moon, to be exact. It was just a few days from the full.

"Are you sure? You don't look all right," Sirius said suspiciously. "Maybe you should see Madam Pomfrey."

"See, Sirius, I'm absolutely right, okay? I'm just a bit... tired." Remus sighed as his friend's doubtful expression didn't fade the faintest. "If I still don't look well tomorrow, I'll go to see Madam Pomfrey, okay?" he promised. At least he could that way avoid the Herbology lesson, on which they were bound to handle the Wolfsbane. Professor Sprout would understand.

"I'll hold you to that," Sirius said, then dropped the topic. Remus thanked Merlin for his friend's short attention span.

They began studying.

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The next chapter: **An Unexpected Ally**

Sirius and Remus decide that they need some help with their plans.


	3. Unexpected Allies

Disclaimer: JKR owns them all. I own only the plot.

A/N: More of my updating-old-fics rampage.

Nope, it's not Lily. Nor is it James. But who? Let's just say that he'll be their strongest ally in their war against Potter's gang.

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Best Friends

Unexpected Allies

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The next couple of weeks went over uneventfully. James Potter and half of his lieutenants had to be taken to the Infirmary as they somehow gained a pig's ears and tails, then Sirius and Remus got mysterious boils all over their skin. By some unfortunate joke of fate, Sirius and Remus shared a dormitory with Potter and Pettigrew. However, as all other Gryffindors had demanded that the Gryffindor Tower was not a place for pranks, their war had kept at the level of unsuppressed hatred in their dormitory.

Now, it was the time for breakfast. Remus and Sirius sat on one end of the table, surrounded by those who silently supported them, and Potter with his personal court was seated on the other end. The two sides glared at each other continuously, hardly concentrating on eating.

Suddenly, Remus nudged Sirius on the ribs. "D'you think that Snape is eyeing our table strangely?" he hissed at his friend.

Sirius snapped his eyes away from Potter. "What? Oh, yes. The slimeball seems to be expecting something."

Just at the same moment, there was a loud shriek coming from the other end of the Gryffindor table. As they glanced there, Potter and most of his most eager followers were staring in shock at one another, horrified by the green and blue spots they were sporting along with an unnatural growth of pink fur on their face.

Sirius bursted into laughter right away. Soon after that, the whole end of the table where they were sitting was laughing out loud, as well as most of the other tables. Potter attempted to run to them, but a couple of teachers stopped them.

"Don't be ridiculous, Mister Potter," they heard Professor McGonagall saying. "That's a far too complex potion for a first-year to handle. There's no way Mister Black could have done this. Now, to the Infirmary!"

As everyone was laughing at the poor Gryffindors, Remus was the only one who noticed the self-satisfied smirk on Snape's face. Only his watchful eyes noticed the boy raising from the Slytherin table and heading out of the Great Hall.

He quickly whispered his observations to Sirius, who nodded. "I bet he's behind this," the raven-haired boy muttered quietly to himself. "Come on, Remus, let's go and catch him!"

Remus followed his friend, although not before briefly wondering what Sirius was up to. Before he could voice his suspicions, however, he found himself already in the corridor, where Sirius had just cornered Snape and grasped the smaller boy's arm.

"Let me go, Black," Snape snarled. "I've done nothing to you."

"No, you haven't," replied Sirius self-confidently, letting Snape's arm go. "But you've done to Potter."

"So, I spiked their pumpkin juice. And what do you care?" snapped the Slytherin back at him. "He's your enemy, isn't he? What's it to you whether I try to have revenge?"

"It is," said Sirius, "when it is done in such an impressive way."

Snape gave Remus a disbelieving gaze. "Lupin, did my ears deceive me, or did I just hear Black give me a compliment?"

"I do believe so, yes," replied Remus, who already started to realize what Sirius was going to do.

"Now, what's it that you want, Black?" spat then Snape, his attention returning back to Sirius. Even though he acted angry and hateful, the slightest hint of fear could be seen under his hard cover.

"To make you an offer." Sirius took calmly a step forward, while Snape backed away from him. "You are at least as good in hexes as I am, and you know potions better than many fifth-years. And, you are against Potter just as much as you are against us. I suggest that we join forces."

Snape didn't say anything. Instead, he simply stared at Sirius, obviously not believing a word.

"Think about it, Snape," Sirius coaxed. "You'll be in the receiving end of Potter's pranks anyway, you are a Slytherin, after all. But, if you accept our offer, you'll get more revenge at him, and you'll be safe from our side. You can only win in this deal."

For a moment, the Slytherin seemed to be thinking. "Fine," said Snape then, nodding. "With two - no, three conditions."

"And what would those be?" asked Sirius, raising his eyebrows.

"One: Not only you keep from pulling pranks on me, but on any Slytherin in my presence. I certainly do not want to be singled out as the only one who's safe from you. Two: If you decide to pull pranks on other Slytherins, however, I'm not in any way involved. I'd rather avoid the revenge of my housemates. Three: My name is Severus, not Snape."

"Sounds reasonable." Sirius reached out his hand. "Shall we call it a deal?"

"Wait a minute," said Snape, raising his eyebrows. "How can I know that you'll keep you promise?"

"I'm a bloody Gryffindor, we always keep our promises," replied the other boy with a broad grin. "And even if you don't trust me, can you trust Remus, anyway? You know that he'd never cheat anyone or betray his words."

"Very well, then," Snape agreed. He reached out his both hands and took the hands that were extended to him, one Sirius's, the other Remus's. "It's a deal."

It didn't take a genius to notice that something had changed in the relationship among the three boys. At first, everybody just thought that they were acting weird - the thought of a Slytherin choosing a side in the raging student war was almost impossible to everyone to be even considered.

Then, however, came the next Potions lesson. Before, Severus had always worked alone, much like Sirius had before he and Remus had become friends, after which the two had always paired up whenever possible. Now, however, the two Gryffindors walked right to the back of the class, where Severus sat in his lonely desk. Sirius murmured a quick charm, attaching half of the next desk to the end of Severus's. Then he and Remus sat on both sides of the Slytherin, sending challenging glances to everyone who dared to look at them in a wrong way.

"Collecting your little court, eh, Black?" asked Potter with a malicious sneer. "Quite fitting, actually. The only ones who can voluntarily stand your company are an outcast and a Slytherin slimeball."

Sirius glared hatefully at him, and Remus lowered his eyes at the board of his desk, a slight flush on his cheeks. Severus, however, would not stay quiet. "You're one to speak, Potter," he snarled. "I wouldn't say that Pettigrew is exactly the most popular boy in the school."

"Well, at least Peter's not a queer, like you," huffed Potter, sending an annoyed glare towards the Slytherin.

"Ten points from Gryffindor for insulting a fellow student in such a horrid way, Mister Potter," snapped Professor Garner, who'd just then come in to the class room. "And don't make me take even more points."

"Geez," muttered Sirius as he noticed the glares Potter was sending at their way. "You just got to Potter's black list, Snape - or, more literally, his Black list."

"I can bear that," replied Snape, shrugging. "It isn't like I was on his good side before. I'm a Slytherin, after all - free prey." At the last words, he sneered, and even Sirius had the decency to at least attempt to look guilty at his words.

Then, however, the professor started to write the instructions on the board, and they started to quickly make their notes.


	4. Revelations

Disclaimer: I only own the plot.

A/N: Sirius and Severus are going to put their nose into things that aren't their business... Naughty naughty boys...

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Best Friends

Revelations

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Time seemed to fly past now. Sirius and Remus, now sided with Severus, were starting to get an upper hand in the silent war. However, they got their own share of nasty blows as well.

At the moment, however, everything seemed rather calm. Sirius and Severus were alone in the library, as Remus wasn't at school -- he'd claimed he had to be home with his sick mother, who seemed to have some mysterious disease.

"Don't you think it's a bit odd that the teachers let him go home every time?" asked Severus with a frown, raising his eyes from his DADA book. They were currently not planning new pranks -- a truly rare occasion, especially when Remus wasn't there to nag at them for not doing their homework -- but were instead doing research on their DADA projects. "This is, what, the fourth time he's away! And that is, fourth time during the time I've been with you. Before that, he was also away at least two or three times!"

"Well, maybe they take pity on him," said Sirius, shrugging. "Besides, Rem's rather sickly himself. Maybe they think that worrying over his mother without seeing her might make him sick."

"But still!" argued the Slytherin, now completely forgetting the book. "And what kind of a disease might make her seriously ill only once a month and then have her well for the rest of the time?"

"Girly things?" suggested Sirius with a grin, then broke into childish giggles. Like most boys in his age, he'd just started to realize that there were indeed differences between boys and girls, and had only a vague idea about what those differences were. Also, just like most boys in his age, he found it all incredibly funny.

Even Severus laughed -- he was, after all, in that fateful age, too. Then, however, he frowned again. "And he always looks a bit ill whenever he comes back -- and a bit before he leaves. You don't think he's getting the same disease his mother has?"

"Merlin, I hope not," breathed Sirius once he got over the giggling fit. "It must be really awful if he's allowed to go to meet her every time the disease hits."

Nodding slightly, Severus turned the next page in his book. "Are you going to research a Dark object or a creature?" he asked from Sirius.

"A creature," the Gryffindor said with a broad grin. "To be exact, the vampire. Can I make some questions to you?"

Severus shot him an icy glare. Calling Severus a vampire was definitely the oldest and most overused joke among their group of friends.

"Just kidding," Sirius laughed. "Well, the teacher gave me werewolves for a subject," he then said. "They're really quite interesting."

"He did?" asked Severus, raising his eyebrows. "I thought we weren't going to cover them until on our fourth year."

"He said I'm good enough to research them," said Sirius with a self-satisfied smirk. "And I've already found some interesting facts. Like, you cannot tell a werewolf from a usual human except for a couple of little things."

"And what are those?" asked Severus. However, no matter how interesting werewolves were, his mind was still halfly concentrating on Remus. It was a bit worrying, really -- what if the boy's mother's disease was indeed inheritable?

"Well, for a first thing, werewolves are all allergic to silver." And an image floated into Severus's mind.

_"How much money do you get from your parents, Remus?" asked Sirius curiously._

_"A Galleon every two weeks," the smallest boy replied absent-mindedly._

_"A Galleon every two weeks?" echoed Severus. "Why not some Sickles every week?"_

_"Because I'm allergic to silver." At the other boys' laughter, Remus said defensively, "Hey, it's true! Some people are allergic to nickel, I'm allergic to silver. What's so unbelievable about that?"_

Suddenly, Severus felt very cold. He almost didn't hear when Sirius continued, "And if they're bitten when they're just kids, the Lycanthropy will disturb their growth, so they'll be smaller."

_"Why're you so tiny, Remus?" inquired Sirius teasingly. "I have to crouch down to get to face-level with you!"_

_"Shut up, you prick," Remus said, blushing slightly. "It's not my fault that I have some kind of a growth disturbance."_

"Werewolves are often sickly and thin, because the transformations wear them down, but they heal fast, and are usually much stronger than they look like." Sirius didn't seem to notice Severus's disturbed thoughts.

_"You should eat more, Remus," scolded Severus as he caught the two Gryffindors in a corridor. "You're far too thin for your own good."_

_"He's right, you know," Sirius said, serious for once -- no pun intended, unless you asked Sirius himself. "You look like a breeze might knock you over -- or like you could catch cold if you drank too cold water!"_

_"More likely pneumonia," muttered Severus. "And are you sure you should be up and about yet? That was one nasty blow you got in the last Potions lesson when Potter sabotaged our potion!"_

_"Honestly, you both sound like my mother," muttered Remus, sounding a bit annoyed. "I should do this and I shouldn't do that. I'm really fine, Severus, thank you very much, and I don't seriously think Madam Pomfrey would have released me from the Infirmary if I wasn't."_

_"Well, at least on that he's right," Sirius commented. "Pomfrey declared him healthy after two hours, while I had to stay in the Infirmary for five hours. And it was he who took the full blow of the potion! And on that note, Remus," he then added, now directly at the smallest boy, "how on earth did you manage to push me aside? No offense, but you are so tiny!"_

_Remus flushed slightly. "Desperation gives you strength," he muttered, then added something so lowly that neither of the boys could hear what he said._

"Also, they usually have really strong senses, superhuman, really. They can identify a person for their scent only! And, they see very well in dark."

_"Back down!" hissed Remus. "Filch is coming, I hear his footsteps!"_

_"Are you sure?" asked Severus with a frown. "I don't hear anybody."_

_"Believe me now, and hide," Remus snapped quietly. So, they all backed away to the short side corridor, hoping that the shadows would hide them._

_"We're in luck," whispered Remus when the dark form of the caretaker had passed the corridor. "He didn't have Mrs. Norris with him." The other boys agreed with him, although Severus couldn't help but wonder. How on Earth had Remus managed to see that the cat wasn't there, when it was so incredibly difficult to even see Filch in the darkness, as there were no lights in this part of the dungeons?_

"Severus? Hey, Severus, are you listening at all?" asked Sirius with a deep frown.

The Slytherin forced himself to stay calm. "I'm okay," he said weakly. "Go on."

"Fine," said Sirius, although he passed a doubtful gaze at him. "So, if a werewolf is kept away from people at the full moon, it will bite and scratch itself. I don't really think they're that bad -- it sounds like the transformation is the worst for the werewolves themselves."

_It was a rare situation, as Sirius was not there with Severus and Remus. However, they didn't have to fear the Potter's "army," since they'd long ago learnt that not only were Remus and Severus quite qualified hexers all by themselves, but also the revenge was always vicious._

_Severus was currently in the middle of a long explanation. However, as he grasped Remus's arm to emphasize his words, he noticed that the other boy flinched slightly. Being a Slytherin, Severus had, despite his young age, seen many things and styles of life. Therefore, he didn't hesitate a bit before drawing Remus's sleeve up._

_Then he gasped in shock and surprise. The small boy's arm was full of cuts, scratches, and small scars. "Remus?" he asked, slightly fearful. "You - you aren't cutting yourself, are you?"_

_"No!" exclaimed Remus, sounding as horrified as Severus felt. "It's just -- my parents have a new cat, a really vicious one. As it didn't know me, it kept scratching and biting me all the time as I was with them. Really, Severus, it's nothing else. I -- I would never hurt myself on purpose. Not on purpose."_

_Severus nodded slowly. Remus's desperate speech didn't assure him one bit. Remus had only visited his parents a couple of days ago -- he should have had only the scratches, even if the story was true. Those scars could not be the cat's doing._

_Therefore, he kept Remus under constant watching for the next couple of days, even though he didn't say anything to Sirius. He cared far too much for his few friends to let any of them hurt themselves -- not that he'd ever confessed it to anyone. But as Remus didn't seem to show any new signs of possibly hurting himself, Severus slowly relaxed, and let the whole issue be as the cuts had healed very fast, so they couldn't be deep. However, he did not forget._

"Severus? Severus, you're not listening to me at all. What's wrong?"

The Slytherin was startled awake from his thoughts only to find Sirius waving a hand in front of his face. "Sirius?" he asked quietly. "I -- when's the next full moon?"

"Tonight," replied Sirius immediately. "Why do you ask?" he then asked curiously.

"Well..." Severus drew a deep breath, then quickly cast a silencing charm around them. As Sirius watched him curiously, now really eager to hear what he had to say, Severus dropped the bomb. "Sirius, I think Remus is a werewolf."

* * *

"Remus?"

The small boy startled and turned around, cursing inwardly for not being on watch. To his great relief, he saw only Sirius and Severus, not Potter's gang. He didn't feel well enough at the moment to face anyone in a duel of hexes and curses. "Hi, guys," he said quietly.

Now, however, his friends surprised him. Instead of asking how his mother was, like usually, Sirius asked casually, "Say, Remus, how are you?"

"I'm fine," replied Remus with a small, nervous laugh. He most certainly didn't feel fine. Not at all. "How are you?"

"It was not just a polite phrase," said Severus, raising an eyebrow, like was his habit. "We're really interested in hearing how you are doing."

"But I'm fine!" snapped Remus, oblivious to the fact that he'd stopped and his friends were slowly advancing on him. "Why can't you just believe it?"

"Because you don't look fine," said Sirius calmly. "Are you going to tell us how you are doing, or do we have to go to ask Madam Pomfrey?"

"What would she know?" asked Remus back, although inside, he was getting fearful. Just what did Sirius and Severus know? "I've been visiting my parents, if you've managed to miss that."

"But we don't think you were visiting your parents," said Severus, now stopping right in front of him. "Instead, we think that you have been here, at Hogwarts." Then, leaning close to his ear and whispering so that nobody but Remus could hear a thing, he continued, "You were hiding... Because it was the full moon."

Remus watched his friends with wide, startled eyes. He was also wondering what they would do. Would they tell everyone? Or would they just simply abandon him?

"Don't worry," Sirius said, however. "We're not going to tell anyone, nor are we going to leave you over this." With a small, although weak smile, he continued, "It's not your fault that you are... a werewolf."

And that was too much for Remus. He just broke into tears, tears of tension and fear and immense relief, now that he knew what his friends thought. Sirius and Severus exchanged brief glances over his head, then both closed him in a clumsy, yet comforting embrace.

However, this moment of absolute friendship was interrupted by a harsh shout. "Oh, isn't this just so _beautiful_," said Potter mockingly. "One queer crying like a girl and the others together hugging him!"

"Get lost, Potter," snapped Sirius, "unless you want _me_ to take care that you do." Then he simply turned around, and he and Severus started to lead Remus away. This was not the time for fighting. Their friend was more important now.

* * *

Next chapter:

The boys are fifteen. The "war" is still going on.


	5. Beginnings

Disclaimer: Nope, I own nothing but the AU plot.

A/N: I'll let you know that this fic will be end soon. This is the second last chapter.   
Oh, and WARNING: Implied SLASH (no specific pairing) in this chapter. If such implications bother you, turn away.

* * *

Best Friends

Beginnings

* * *

"DAMN YOU TO HELL, BLACK! I SWEAR I WILL GET YOU!"

Sirius suppressed a laugh as he ran around the corner. Severus and Remus were there waiting for him. Only he couldn't see them -- until a little potion phial appeared in front of him from seemingly nowhere. Hastily uncorking it and then gulping it down, Sirius felt the familiar tingle going through him as the Invisibility Potion quickly started its work on him.

By the time Potter stormed to sight, a large flower growing on top of his head, Sirius was safely standing next to his friends on the side of the corridor. The potion originally made the drinker invisible to everyone, but Severus had modified it so that anybody under its effect would see everybody else in the same state. It had been hard, but Severus was truly brilliant in potions.

The Invisibility Potion was one of the reasons why they nowadays were leading in the little war. Potter had his Invisibility Cloak, true, but those hidden under it could not work separately. Besides, Remus, being a werewolf, also happened to possess a gift of seeing right through such devices. Potter's gang couldn't hide from them, but they could be hidden from everybody.

"I know you are here somewhere, Black," snarled Potter. "And you're going to pay for what you did!" At this, he whipped his wand at sight, starting to throw hexes anywhere he could. Fortunately, he missed the three invisible boys right next to him.

"Mister Potter!" roared a furious voice from the other end of the corridor. "No magic is allowed in the corridors! Therefore, I'll --" Just then, Professor McGonagall's words were interrupted as Potter, startled by her sudden approach, accidentally threw a Jellyleg curse at her. "FIFTY POINTS FROM GRYFFINDOR!" she yelled furiously while trying in vain to get to her feet to reach her wand, which had fallen some way further down the corridor. "AND YOU'RE BANNED FROM THE NEXT QUIDDITCH MATCH!" Fortunately to him, Potter had enough sense to run hastily away, not trying to defend himself, as that would have surely gained him even more punishments.

As soon as the professor was also away, having finally reached her wand and reversed the charm, the three young wizards still in the corridor bursted into helpless laughter. Potter with a flower on his head would have been enough, but the incident with McGonagall had been just precious.

"It's a good thing she left," giggled Remus. "I would have split myself if I had had to suppress laughter any longer! I swear, the look on Potter's face when he accidentally hexed her will forever be drawn to my mind!"

"Same here," said Severus with a smirk, then abandoned his Slytherin calmness in favour of laughing. "Every time I think we've made him look about as bad as possible, he puts his foot into something bigger all on his lonesome self!"

"Hardly lonesome," Sirius mentioned, grinning broadly. "Pettigrew has fooled himself often enough, too... Like that time he thought we'd shrank his prick and asked Madam Pomfrey to check it!"

This memory made the two others laugh so badly that they had to stead themselves on the wall. However, the wall slipped under Remus's hand, and he fell right on Severus, drawing the Slytherin down to the floor with himself. After a second they both lay there, on top of each other, face to face, chest to chest... and crotch to crotch.

It took them both a second to realize this. When they did, however, they both blushed fiercely and hastily spun apart -- or as hastily as they could, Remus lying on top of Severus. Their reaction of course didn't go unnoticed by Sirius.

"It looks like the Marauders can make fools of themselves quite effectively, too," he said teasingly. "Say, boys, is there anything you'd like to tell me, hmm? Some _heart_felt news, or anything?"

"Shut up, you prick," grumbled Remus angrily. "Like you had never put your foot into it!"

"Well, at least I won't blush if I fall on top of my male friend," the taller of the dark-haired boys said, grinning broadly. "If it's a girl I fall on, well, then that's another story..."

"So you won't mind if I do this?" asked Severus casually. And then he quickly reached out his hand to grasp on Sirius's crotch, and whatever he found there.

Now Sirius did indeed blush. "Queer," he huffed, his face a bright red, jumping away from Severus as soon as the Slytherin let go of him.

"I think we've a long time ago established that yes, I'm indeed a queer," remarked Severus dryly, although with a lot of hidden mirth twinkling in his onyx eyes. "The question is, are you?" And true, they had established that. It was not only pranks and schoolwork they talked about -- sexuality also came up from time to time. Even a couple of experimenting kisses had been exchanged, but those had never led to anything -- at least to nothing that anybody would know of.

"I'm not!" replied Sirius hastily. Then he added, "Well... At least I don't think I am."

Remus grinned at him. "Well, it doesn't matter anything now, anyway," he said cheerfully. "Right now, we have to get back to the Gryffindor Tower before the curfew!"

"Why the hurry?" asked Severus, raising an amused eyebrow. "Don't you trust my potion to last?"

"Yes, I do," replied the werewolf with a bright grin. "But if Potter gets there before us, like he most likely will, he'll be sure to inform the professors, should we arrive even a second too late!" With this, he grasped Sirius's arm and attempted to drag him away. "Come on now, Sirius," he said with a smirk. "Be a good boy and walk on my side."

"I'm not a dog," the other boy said grudgingly. He did not like being teased by his friends. Especially when they were so good at it, having got their lessons from the best -- namely, Sirius himself.

"Oh, yes you are," said Remus, laughing. "At least more than either of us."

"Canines we are all," Severus remarked with dry amusement.

Halfway through their fifth year, Sirius and Severus had completed something they hadn't even told Remus they were trying to achieve. To be exact, the Animagus transformation. As a werewolf was only a danger to humans, they could spend the full moons with Remus in their animal forms. Funnily enough, Sirius's form was a pale-eyed, black dog that resembled a Grim quite a bit, and Severus was a slender, dark grey wolf. Remus had of course been overjoyed, although he'd at first been shocked at the thought that his friends might ever attempt something so dangerous just for him. They'd even created new nicknames for each other. Remus was Moony, Sirius was Padfoot, and Severus was Howler. The Slytherin had at first protested at the name with so many meanings, but as they'd remarked that Severus was much more probable to start yelling at someone than the two other "Marauders," like they called themselves, he'd at last came to accept his playful name.

Animagi forms and the modified Invisibility Potion weren't the only things they'd managed to get to their side in the seemingly endless war against Potter's gang. They had also created something that they called a Marauder's Map. Remus's knowledge, Sirius's power, and Severus's skills combined, they had drawn their very own magical map of Hogwarts that would always show them where everybody on the school grounds was. They were quite sure it was something even some of their teachers might be amazed at seeing, and were right on spot at that. In fact, they were planning to present it to Flitwick as their final Charms project for their current, sixth year at Hogwarts.

After a bit more of bickering after that, however, Remus and Sirius left Severus's company, hurrying towards the Gryffindor Tower. Once there, they were wary as they entered their dormitory. Even though their housemates had forced them into not using any magic or getting into fistfights inside the Tower, neither side had ever been afraid of using Muggle means to get back at the other. A water bucket over the door was the least they could expect.

However, nothing nasty was awaiting them. Instead, they were faced with the rather amusing sight of Potter standing in front of his bed, grinding his teeth, and Pettigrew trying in vain to make the flower on his head disappear.

"What's the problem, Potter?" asked Sirius, not even bothering to suppress his laughter. "Didn't anybody inform you that your head is not a flower pot?"

"Shut up, you prick," snapped the other dark-haired young wizard back. "At least I'm a human, unlike _some_." At this, he glared pointedly at Remus.

Potter had found out about Remus's Lycanthropy back in their third year. He'd gone to the Headmaster, thinking that he might get at least one of his enemies expelled. However, he'd been informed that the Headmaster already knew, that he didn't care, and that should anybody else find out about it, it would be _Potter_ who was expelled and not Remus. Of course, this had not changed the boy's attitude towards the werewolf any better. After hearing of this, Pettigrew -- who never had any secrets with Potter -- also used Remus's Lycanthropy on his advantage to pick on the other boy at every opportunity where nobody could overhear them.

"Well, at least I don't call myself male when I'm not," replied Remus with equal hatred in his voice. His amber eyes flashed as he sneered at the bespectacled boy.

This was a bad move, however. The comment made Potter even more angry than he'd been, and before anybody could do anything, he'd crossed a line they'd never come over until then. His wand pointed right at the werewolf, his lips formed a throwing curse. The bright bolt of light hit Remus squarely on the chest, coming too fast and from too near for even the werewolf to avoid.

The curse threw Remus backwards with a surprising force, and his head collided with the wall. A sickening crack could be heard, and the young werewolf lost his consciousness immediately. When his body slowly slid some way down the wall, a stream of blood stained the stones at the places where his head touched the wall.

"Remus?" asked Sirius, really shocked. "Hey, Remus, do you hear me?"

He got no response. Starting to get really scared, completely oblivious to his two wanded enemies now behind his back, he crouched down next to his friend. "Hey, Remus, wake up," he said softly. "Please..." Then he noticed something startling. "Bloody hell," he cursed, the shock evident in his voice. "He's not breathing."

Now, even Potter was shocked. Pettigrew, too, stared at them, his mouth open in pure shock. Sure, they hated Remus and his friends and wanted nothing good for them. Sure, they'd often enough shot various curses, hexes, and jinxes at them all. But _this_... This was something new, something _wrong_. Their enemy was supposed to jump up, laugh, and run somewhere to pull pranks at new people. He wasn't supposed to get _hurt_, not really.

He wasn't supposed to get killed.

"Black," started Potter with a trembling voice, "I -- I don't know what to say. I never meant -- I never would have --"

"Shut up, you BLOODY BASTARD!" shrieked Sirius, turning his teary face at his enemies. "You KILLED Remus! You KILLED him!" Ignoring now his stunned dormmates, he turned towards Remus, tears soaking his whole face now. "Remus..." he whispered quietly, "hey, Remie dear... Please, wake up..."

But Remus didn't wake up.

* * *

Oh... That went a bit far from the original humor fic, didn't it? Don't worry, though, I swear everything will turn out fine in the end!   
And the end is in the **next chapter**! 


	6. Resolutions

Disclaimer: None of it is mine.

A/N: And this one will end, too. Originally it was even darker, but I decided to at least try to bring some humour into it... I'm pretty pleased with the ending, though.

* * *

Best Friends

Resolutions

* * *

"Calm down, James," Peter tried to calm his distressed friend. "Just calm down. Everything will be all right."

"No, it won't," the bespectacled boy said, weeping comfortlessly. "I'm a murderer, Peter. A bloody _killer_, don't you understand? I'm no better than those Death Eater bastards!"

"Death Eaters?" echoed a quiet voice behind them. As they turned to look, they saw Severus Snape standing in the doorway, seemingly just as calm and unaffected as always. Had he not heard the news?

"That's none of your business," snapped James through his tears. "What are you doing here, anyway? This is the Gryffindor Tower, if you didn't notice! Or are your tiny Slytherin brains incapable of handling such knowledge?"

"Lay it off, Potter," Snape said smoothly, but under his so well-controlled voice they could hear a tinge of tiredness. "I'm not here to fight. Instead, I have to get some things." Without offering any further explanation, he walked to Lupin's trunk. James and Peter didn't try to stop him, assuming that he had a rightful reason to be on his friend's trunk -- not that they'd cared much if he'd stolen something of Lupin's, anyway.

After finding whatever it was that he was looking for, Snape closed Lupin's trunk and moved to Blacks. Some minutes later he'd found something from there as well, putting that object into his pocket, and closed the trunk. Just as he was about to leave, however, James stopped him.

"Is -- is Lupin --" He swallowed, trying to form a sensible sentence, but found himself unable to. Instead, he just shook his head in desperation, hoping that Snape got his message anyway.

Thankfully, he did. "Dead? Not yet," the Slytherin replied gravely. "However, his head is severely injured, and he might die. All that's keeping him alive now is magic." With a slight snort, he added, "Sometimes you truly amaze me, Potter. Some people waste their whole lives trying to kill a werewolf, and now you've probably killed one on accident."

"I didn't mean to," whispered the bespectacled boy. "I honestly didn't mean to..."

"What did you get from their trunks, anyway?" asked Peter, desperate to stop James from wallowing further into his self-loathing. "It's not every day you see a Slytherin just marching in here. Never, to be exact."

"I was fetching comfort," replied Snape cryptically. "Comfort and consolation." Without a single word of explanation, he then left, leaving the two Gryffindors behind.

* * *

When Severus arrived to the Infirmary, he found Sirius sitting on one of the beds. "Has anything happened, Padfoot?" he asked quietly, nodding towards the corner where their friend lay, separated from the rest of the Infirmary with curtains.

"Nothing," replied Sirius just as quietly. "No changes, to better or worse."

"No news is good news," stated Severus dryly. "Was this what you wanted?" he asked, drawing something from his pocket and giving it to the other boy.

Sirius watched the thing in his hand for a while. It was a necklace -- or, more accurately, a dogtag on a thin chain. He had got it from Remus on his sixteenth birthday almost a year before -- his birthday was in February -- and liked it a lot. On the front, the tag read, "Sirius Black, AKA Padfoot," and on the back, "Marauders Forever." Tightening his fist around the necklace as if to keep it as near to himself as humanly possible, trying to get at least some kind of contact to his werewolf friend, he then glanced at the uninjured one of his friends.

Severus had taken out the other two things in his pockets. There were now two stuffed toy wolves in his hands, one golden, the other dark grey. Severus had got his Moony toy from Remus at Christmas on their fifth year, and Remus had received his very own little Howler that same day, too. Now the grey one was lying forgotten in Severus's lap, as if waiting for its rightful owner, while the golden one was in the Slytherin's hands, Severus's fingers slowly caressing its soft fur. There was an expression of gentleness and longing Sirius had rarely seen on his friend's usually so controlled face. And, suddenly, the pieces just slipped together.

"You're together, aren't you?" he asked quietly. "You and Remus."

At first, Severus looked startled. Then he smirked. "We're always together, didn't you know that?" he asked, attempting to get a playful tone into his voice. "Marauders forever, remember?"

"I didn't mean that, and you know it," Sirius replied levelly. "Are you together, like, for romantic purposes?"

"You mean, are we a gay couple?" snorted the Slytherin. Then he sighed, "Yes, we are. We've been together for three months now. I'm sorry we didn't tell you, but we didn't want you to hate us. Sure, we've talked about things like that a lot, but it was just talking -- we couldn't know for sure how you would react to our news."

"Come on, Howler, you know me better than that," the Grim Animagus replied with a tired smile. "Of course I wouldn't hate you. I never could. If you came to me and announced that you're both going to marry Dumbledore, I would just ask to be your best man."

Severus shuddered. "Now _that_ is an image I certainly didn't need," he muttered.

* * *

Against all odds, Remus truly got better soon. Whether it was because of Madam Pomfrey's expertise, his own unbelievable healing abilities, or Sirius and Severus's constant company and support, nobody could tell for sure.

However, what was for sure was that James Potter was in for a nasty punishment. A big, nasty punishment.

"I've decided to give you two months of detention for endangering a fellow student's life, James," Dumbledore said sternly, looking hardly at the squirming form in front of him. "However, as Remus was the one you injured and almost killed, he will be allowed to decide some of your punishment, too." With these words, he nodded towards the door of the room. "Come in!" he bellowed.

And they did. Sirius and Severus walked in side by side, holding Remus in a sitting position on their arms between them. The werewolf was pale and looked weak as he sat on his improvised "throne," but at least he was alive.

"Master Remus has come to lay sentences on the poor and weak inhabitants of the Earth," bellowed Sirius dramatically. "Crawl and shiver in front of his holy person, for he sees all your faults and wrongdoings!"

"He's righteous and holy," continued Severus, grave serious. "His judgement is right. Do not doubt his words, for he is not merciful to those who stand against him!"

"Amen," muttered Remus, seemingly amused about his friends' words. "Headmaster, what limits are you giving to the punishment I should assign to Potter?" he asked, his eyes twinkling and bringing some light to his tired face.

"School rules and common sense," replied Dumbledore, smiling slightly at their antics. "Rest assured that I will let you know if I don't approve."

"Very well." Remus nodded and turned towards Potter. He seemed to be just about to speak when Sirius suddenly spoke up.

"Fear, oh, you unworthy scum!" he shouted enthusiastically. "Master Remus is going to slay you and make you and your descendants in seven generations crawl in misery until you regret your evil deeds!"

"Oh, lay it off, Padfoot," sighed the werewolf. "So, Potter, we have decided on something."

"And true and mighty is his word!" piped Severus up. "Listen to him, and you shall know!"

"Shut it, Howler," muttered Remus. "So, Potter, we'll be satisfied if you publicly admit that we're better pranksters, wizards, students, and people overall than your gang."

"And if you stop pulling pranks on us and our supporters," added Severus. "It's about the time this stupid fight ends -- to our well-deserved victory, of course."

"_And_ if you admit to Filch that it was you who nicked his collection of Playwizards, and not us," said Sirius then. "It's been a year already, why is he still bothering us with something we didn't even _do_ for once?"

"But I didn't do that!" protested Potter. "I'm not enough of a fool to touch on Filch's precious porn, he'd kill me alive!"

"Kill you alive?" echoed Severus amusedly. "How would he kill you otherwise, may I ask?"

"You know what I mean," replied the bespectacled Gryffindor annoyedly. "But the point is, I didn't steal those Playwizards! So it must have been you!"

"Did not!" argued Remus. "None of us would have touched those!"

"Ah, sorry, I forgot," murmured Potter sarcastically. "You're all queers, of course you wouldn't care about Playwizards."

"That we are, and proud of it," Severus said calmly. "Well, Padfoot here isn't, but I and Moony most certainly are," he then added, kissing his boyfriend on the cheek.

"Well, actually, Howler..." started Sirius amusedly. "In fact, I _am_ gay. I even have a boyfriend, too."

"What?" exclaimed Potter. "I don't wonder about those two freaks, they are made for each other after all, but who ever would have anything to do with _you_?"

"Well, you know him rather well," Sirius said, waggling his eyebrows. "We all sleep in the same dormitory, after all."

"E tu, mi Peter," groaned the bespectacled boy. "Honestly, who can I trust anymore? My best friend has gone to the enemy's side -- literally!"

"Sorry, James," said Peter, his head appearing to the doorway. "I honestly didn't mean to, but he was really persistent! And I'm not on _their_ side, I'm just on _his_," he added then.

"There's no difference," muttered Potter. Then he sighed. "Okay, let's get this over with," he muttered. "I will tell everyone that you won, if that gets you off my neck. But I'm _not_ telling Filch that I took those pron. magazines, because I did not," he then added heatedly.

"Oh, don't worry about those, my boys," Dumbledore said cheerfully. "I'll return them immediately. Honestly, Argus should have just _told_ me that he wanted them back..."

At this, the boys all turned slightly green and hurried out of the room.

* * *

THE END 

And no, there's no more.


End file.
